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rot13

A friend of mine sent me an email message. It was encrypted with a program called rot13. I guess it is an old unix program, but I don't have a copy of it. Well, I have spent the last 4 days trying to figure it out, but I just can't get it. Here are the instructions that he gave me for a windows machine:
First, I have to open the file in a text editor.
Second, save the file as a .trp (token ring packet) file.
Third, send the file around our token ring (used for a barcode system). Note, It must run around 13 times (hence rot(ate)13)
Fourth, convert the file back to a text file.
Finally, open the file.

Well, I am having a problem. The file will only go around the ring 11 times before it gives me an error. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong? How can I get the last 2 passes?

Have you tried to set all adapters in "autosence" mode ? But to get this to work you have to use IBM Turbo TR cards (ISA).. I wish I could help you but Im out of ideas.. Anyone else know how to do this ?

Well, you know this is obviously an application of bit-rot, only accelerated. The computer does a little function on the data thirteen times to simulated bit-rot, and you have to reconstruct the original data framework. The problem is that some programs don't handle the rot13-based messages very well when given them through standard input (because of the funky characters that get included) and can get corrupted, causing the bit rot to spread, which is pretty creepy if you ask me. Fortunately only some of Microsoft's crappier programs are vulnerable.

You could always get a copy of Netscape. It supports ROT-13. At least 4.7 does.

Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it.
- Samuel Johnson

ROT13 wasn't meant to be used for security.....it is a simple caesar cipher.....basically you shift all the letters over 13 to the right, AKA A becomes N, and so on. Just thought I would bring this up...

Cheeseball> Basically, I was trying to see how long it would take before someone mentioned that. The post I referenced in the AO Addicts form was basically to let everyone in there know I was being a smart ass, and to go along with it.

cwk9> Not everything. I don't actually use Token Ring at work, but some places still do. It was used in cases where a server was not necessarry, but the computers needed to communicate. They are still in place, because they work extreamly well, its easy to find problems, and it isn't worth replacing (although finding parts is kinda tough). cat5 is outdated for new installiations. Everything is cat5e, and there is a cat6 proposal right now. Fiber is becomming very popular, but it runs much like ethernet (IEEE 802.9 I think). FDDI is actually a fiber offshoot of token ring. It is set up in a ring, not a star.